It has been reported in the past few days that an iOS malware, named KeyRaider, has stolen and hacked over 225,000 Apple ID logins and passwords. Alert Logic chief security officer Stephen Coty said the incident would not be a direct hit against Apple since it only affects jailbroken phones.
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He advises anyone with a jailbroken iPhone to keep an eye on their Apple Store purchase history, since Keyraider hackers have been known to make purchases through breached accounts.
According to Forbes, the attackers using this malware also have been reported to blackmail some of their victims. The number of phones affected by the malware suggest that this is one of the largest iPhone hacks ever.
The Chinese iPhone community, WeipTech, together with Palo Alto Networks, worked to find out what happened.
Apple spokesperson Ryan James warned users that jailbreaking tools will increase their iPhones’ exposure to hackers. “If you’ve jailbroken your phone, you should worry about KeyRaider and a lot of other threats like it”, he added. iPhones are equipped with restrictions and security settings of the iOS.
The iOS malware, according to the report, steals Apple account usernames, passwords and device GUIDs (global unique identifiers), as well as Apple Push Notification certificates and private keys, by intercepting iTunes traffic on the device. The software responsible for this specific attack is known as KeyRaider, a piece of software from Chinese jailbreaking sites that has spread across the Internet and stolen close to a quarter of a million Apple accounts. Devices should allow by default the installation of cryptographically signed application rather than submit them to no-compete and other burdensome clauses for acceptance in the app store. individual keys should be issued to developers after verifying their identity, and revoked immediately on abuse.
Apple fans beware: if you have “jailbroken” your iPhone, you’re at extremely high risk of hackers hijacking your Apple account. But, those downloading these apps are using the victims’ accounts.
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“Users wanting to run unauthorized application, or wishing to innovate in their apps beyond the bounds that Apple defines, need to consider carefully if the additional functionality is worth the additional risk”, he said.
